Maharashtra : Local Governance

The Indian Administrative System is a three-tier-administrative system where control flows from upward to downward. Policies are formulated at upward level but their implementation flows towards downwards. The government in the centre is the major administrative body which administers the administration in every state.

Any administrative reform before implementation is present by the central government to get its approval from the Lok Sabha after approval from the Lok Sabha all the state governments are asked to implement the reforms in their respective states. This is the second tier of administrative system. The state government then forwards this responsibility to the local governance in each district to implement these reforms. The local governance is third tier of the administrative set up. This local governance is divided into two tiers urban local government and rural local government.

Unlike several other states of India, the administrative system in Maharashtra is also divided into Urban Local Government and Rural Local Government. The urban government is managed by the Municipal Corporations and Rural Local Government is controlled by the Panchayati Raj System. The Panchayati Raj System is divided at three levels viz.,  Zila Parishad at the district level, Blocks at the middle level and Village Council at the lowest level.

In Maharashtra there are around 23 Municipal corporations which maintain the administration at local level. These Municipal Corporations are namely:

1.    Mumbai
2.    Navi Mumbai
3.    Thane
4.    Mira-Bhayandar
5.    Vasai-Virar
6.    Kalyan-Dombivli
7.    Ulhasnagar
8.    Bhiwandi-Nizampur
9.    Pune
10.    Pimpri-Chinchwad
11.    Kolhapur
12.    Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad
13.    Solapur
14.    Ahmednagar
15.    Nashik
16.    Malegaon
17.    Jalgaon
18.    Dhule
19.    Aurangabad
20.    Nanded-Waghala
21.    Akola
22.    Amravati
23.    Nagpur

The administration in rural areas lies in hands of Panchayati Raj (PR), from PR to Zilla Parishad at the district level, Blocks at the middle level and Village Council at the lowest level.

In Maharashtara there are 33 Zilla Parishads, 355 Panchayat Samiti’s and 28813 Gram Panchyats.